I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
by Silver-eyed Hyuuga
Summary: Sequel to THE SCENT OF RAIN: Now that Kyuubi has been let out, power hungry shinobi are once again after the fox, causing a lot of chaos for Naruto and Neji. Enter a girl who harbors feelings for the Hyuuga, and things are not what they appear. NejiNaru,


Hi guys! This is the long awaited sequel to The Scent of Rain! See, see, I told you I'd post a sequel! I always keep my promises! (reviewers: coughcoughcough...) would you like a cough drop, dearie? I think I have a few cyanide-flavored ones...very tasty if I do say so myself. Oh yes, by the way, I would like to clear things up a bit, cuz I've been getting a few flames for this

1: The characters might me a bit OOC. I just don't get why I receive flames for OOC characters; there are plenty of OOCs out there in other fics

2: All the techniques the characters retained in The Scent of Rain, they will still use in here

3: Yes, Naruto can summon foxes. And birds and snakes and cats and demons...etc. because if you don't remember, Kyuubi gave him some summoning scrolls in the first story

4: Ialready stated in my summary that this fic is not for Sakura fans.This will contain a lot of Sakura bashing, cuz I frankly despise the girl. Don't blame me for despising her; I do,and it's my own opinionso youcan't do anything about it. Don't like, then don't read, much less review. All thepeople who do review, I will ban from the site.

5: If you are one of those people who absolutely absolutely ABSOLUTELY need to send a flame, please please PLEASE don't comment on the following things:

1: The fact that it contains shonen-ai

2: Anything the characters do or say. It's my ficcy, so it abides by my laws, actions, and other crap.

6: And another thing. PLEASE DON'T TELL ME THAT THE STORY SUCKS WITHOUT A VALID REASON AND ONE THAT I CAN VERIFY AS LOGICAL AND REASONABLE! All thenumbskulls who fail to read the author's notes in the beginningshall be banned from the site.Believe me, I have the power with one little click.

Chapter One: Reminisence of the Future

Opalescent eyes graced the ceiling with their intense gaze. Neji yawned sleepily and fumbled over for the reassuring warmth from the blonde. Finding none, he rolled over and sat up, searching inquisitively for his blonde-haired lover. Temporarily activating Byakugan, he located the fox-child in the kitchen, happily cooking away. Neji sighed. All this gourmet cooking in the morning was tasty all right, but Naruto did tend to make a bit much, hence the dozen or so fridges in the kitchen.

Neji swung his legs over the bed and padded softly over to the bathroom. Selecting his hairbrush carefully, he raked it through his ebony locks; it was sort of a girlish thing to do really, but Neji prided his hair a bit more than he did anything else save for his skill at Jyuuken. He was, after all, the only boy with waist-length hair in the genin community.

Making his way to the kitchen, he inhaled the pungent aroma, lavishing the smell before sidling up to Naruto. Nipping the blonde playfully on the ear, Neji wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist, gyrating his lower half seductively against the kitsune.

"Not now, Neji." The Hyuuga licked the boy's neck before replying.

"Why?"

"I'm making breakfast."

Neji pouted, something Lee would have given up his Taijutsu for good to catch on film. Hyuuga's never showed any emotion on their face that had to deal with cuteness. It was a rule, written in the Hyuuga handbook, fine print down at the bottom of paragraph six page four thousand five hundred and fifty seven.

"So you pride breakfast more than your lover?" Naruto cocked his head.

"Frankly…yeah."

Neji poked the blonde in the rear. Naruto spun around and pounced, slamming the Hyuuga onto the extremely hard floor (as Neji realized when he landed; the floor always looked so soft, but looks could be extremely deceiving), kissing the living daylights out of him. Neji's lips were unusually soft that morning, so Naruto didn't miss the fine opportunity to delve into him more, especially when the Hyuuga squirmed beneath him.

Naruto finally let up when Neji's cheeks started taking on a tinge of blue.

"How did it taste?" Neji gasped and choked on the floor for many a minute before replying.

"Shrimp, eel sushi, tempura, sweet balls, and ramen." Naruto nodded thoughtfully.

"Needs more salt." He quickly sprinkled a pinch into the sauce boiling on the stove. Neji sighed and shook his head, kissed the blonde quickly, then started eating the portion Naruto had served for him, storing some in a nearby fridge.

The two walked together down the streets of Konoha, making their way towards the training grounds. Once there, they were about to spar when a sudden strangled choking noise interrupted them. They looked over to the river and saw a figure crawl up from the water, absolutely filthy and caked with mud, dirt, greenish slime, and some unidentified substances. Upon closer observation (not too close; the figure smelled bad as well), Naruto could make out an unusually large forehead behind the mass of mud-streaked hair.

"Sakura?" It was indeed the girl; she climbed up and fainted right in front of the two. Neji and Naruto cocked their heads to the side, debating on whether to leave her here, throw her back in the river, or take her to the Hokage. Either choice was good enough; Tsunade had lost her favor of the girl after the incident with the mission report. Neji turned to his kitsune.

"Dump, leave, or turn in to Tsunade?" Naruto looked at the Hyuuga.

"Dump. Definitely." And so, taking the heavy burden on their shoulders, they slung Sakura back in the river.

"She won't die, will she?" Neji asked. Naruto thought for a while.

"Nope; the river ends in a waterfall which ends in a well down south of Konoha."

Together the two watched the girl float down the river, then meandered through the depths of the forest, enjoying the quiet scenery and the peaceful day.

Somewhere far away

A dark figure paced back and forth in the dim light of the building. Velvety cloak billowing behind him, the cloud nin stalked to and fro with long, powerful strides laced with sinister smoothness. The shinobi stopped and addressed the man behind him.

"What is the status on the subject?" The man looked down at the scroll behind him.

"We have already gained enormous power from other sources, Kanuki-sama. Our next target is the Kyuubi, which harbors more power than all the past sources combined. The Kyuubi seems to be sealed inside a vessel though, so we need to capture the vessel, extract the chakra of the demon fox, and incorporate it with yours." Kanuki nodded.

"Good. Send out a group of four tomorrow to carry out the mission." A sudden sharp rapping noise interrupted Kanuki's speech.

"Come in," The door creaked open, and a girl stepped in.

"Please, Kanuki-sama. I am sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't help overhearing the mission. The group of four is going to capture the Kyuubi brat, am I correct?" Kanuki nodded.

"May I be one of the four?" Interest gleamed in Kanuki's obsidian eyes.

"Why, may I ask?" The girl stepped forward.

"A long time ago, my brother was an envoy that was sent to Konoha undercover. His main mission was to steal the secret of the Byakugan from the local Hyuuga clan, but he failed and was killed. I wish to carry on his mission to honor his name, and also to extract the secret of the Byakugan from Konoha." Kanuki resumed pacing once more.

"Very well, then. You may proceed." The girl bowed.

"Thank you, Kanuki-sama." She turned and glided out of the room.

Walking with measured steps, she made her way to her home, pulling out a picture as she went. Certain sources had told her that the best target for the Byakugan was a youth who apparently had retained a truly amazing talent for the bloodline. Lips spread in a slow smile. Then it would be him who she would target. She studied the picture a little more closely. He was kind of cute. She harbored a soft spot for guys with long hair.

Keys jangled with a clinking metallic sound as she turned the lock to her apartment. A man rose to greet her from the couch in the apartment.

"Rinka, where have you been for the past three hours?" Rinka patted the man on the back reassuringly.

"You know all too well never to meddle in a woman's business, don't you Mane?" He sighed.

"That is what I have learned, but you, my cousin, are only yet a girl." Rinka swiped at his head with a nearby knife; Mane ducked and sidled nonchalantly out of the room.

"It is true you know; you're only fifteen," he stated over his back. Rinka scowled and retired to her own room.

Back in Konoha

"Heh heh heh…..heeheeheeheeheehee…..mmm, the girls sure are lovely today….but Konoha's girls are the loveliest…"

Jiraiya extended his telescope even further, happily watching the girls play in the waterfall. A thin string of drool slipped from his mouth and hung suspended in midair for a few long moments before snapping. Jiraiya zoomed in on the girl with the turquoise two-piece, stuffing several forests worth of tissues up his already bleeding nose.

Suddenly something careened over the edge of the waterfall and landed with a gigantic splash in the water. Frigid drops rained all over the girls, who shrieked and fled the area. Jiraiya tugged at his hair wildly.

"Noooo! Come back, ladies! There is no danger! Honestly!" But the Sannin shouted in vain, for the girls were beyond his voice capacity.

Jiraiya grumbled to himself and waded out into the river. He was just about to the other side when suddenly he bumped into a strange object. Apparently it was the object that fell from the waterfall. He picked it up curiously only to find it was a girl. He'd seen her before; she was the girl whom Naruto had a former crush on. His eyes wandered down to her chest, briefly considering a few…perverted…thoughts, but he stopped when he saw the size of her chest. She barely had any…and her forehead was too big as well. Sighing, he decided to report her to Tsunade and catch a glimpse of that unrivaled cleavage as well.

Neji nimbly dodged the blast of chakra sent careening towards him courtesy of Naruto. Returning the blast, he whipped out a Scythe and slashed at the path of Naruto's dodge. Naruto caught the blade and used it as a lever to propel himself towards Neji who dodged but not before receiving a gash from Naruto's Glaive. Clutching his bleeding shoulder, he activated Byakugan and plunged two fingers into Naruto's neck.

Naruto gasped and turned into a log. Too late, Neji spun around to see Naruto coming at him at a breakneck pace. It was too late to dodge, so he threw out his arms to block the oncoming assault. Something soft pressed itself against his lips, and Naruto broke away, snickering wildly.

"I thought we were supposed to have a _serious_ battle?" The Hyuuga yelled at the boy. Naruto giggled.

"I couldn't resist, you looked so cute with your face all scrunched up like that." Neji growled and came at the boy full force, two Sickles in each hand and each throbbing with power.

"I thought you said you wouldn't destroy the whole forest like last time." Naruto called as Neji sped towards him. The Hyuuga stopped abruptly.

"Right, this coming from the boy who vandalized almost every monumental, expensive, and intricate structure in the whole of Konoha?" Naruto smiled.

"That was ages ago. C'mon, I'm kinda tired." There was a rustle in the bushes and Kotetsu stepped out, delicately picking a few renegade leaves off of his gray uniform.

"Let me guess. Tsunade-baachan wants me because she wants me to go on another harrowing S rank mission with Neji, right?" Kotetsu shook his head.

"Jiraiya-san found the body of a girl in the river. It was identified as Haruno Sakura, your former teammate. She is in stable condition, and should be well soon." Kotetsu departed with an audible poof. Naruto suppressed the rolling of his eyes.

"_I told you she wouldn't die." _

Neji looked thoroughly disappointed.

"If she has already identified the body, why bother calling us up?" Naruto inquired.

"He didn't specify that we come with him, or else he would have stayed instead of disappearing. He probably only wished to inform us." Neji suggested. Naruto nodded.

"Once again, we have to deal with the female pink entity." Both boys sighed and looked downcast.

"You'll have to start wearing a poison-tipped chastity belt, Neji. She'll be trying to rape you in your sleep." Neji slumped forward.

"Here we go again."

Rinka made her way through the dense forest with three other members of her squad. They sailed through the trees, following the map to Konoha village. The brunette made her way through the thicket with short abrupt leaps as she thought about her conversation with Kanuki-sama earlier.

"_You are to be sent as visitors to Konoha. Since you're still young, they won't suspect you as much so you'll have a much easier job of finding your target and the Kyuubi brat. I want the brat alive; as for your preference, you may do as you please with him."_

_Rinka bowed and let herself out._

The brunette perked up as she saw the tip of Konoha's gates up ahead. The squad of four landed on a nearby branch and scrutinized the wooden gates closely. They made their way up to the two guards stationed at the doors.

"State your name and your business please." Rinka assumed they'd gone through this speech many times before. The squad leader stepped forward.

"We are envoys from the Hidden Village of the Cloud, and we are here to see the Hokage." The squad leader handed over their cleverly disguised passports. Rinka felt her stomach knot. If the guards found out about the passports, they might have them thrown out for trespassing.

The guards briefly checked the permits, then nodded and opened the gates to allow the cloud shinobi inside. They escorted the ninja up to the Hokage tower, then left with a poof. Rinku descended the stairs of the tower, marveling at the sheer height and structure of the building. Once inside the tower, she swallowed nervously, trying to hide the butterflies in her stomach. She had heard many rumors about the Hokage; some said she was strict and firm, ruling Konoha with an iron fist. Others said she was hopelessly dedicated to her work, and loved Konoha and its people. Either way, Rinku hoped she wasn't too strict.

The doors of the office opened, and the squad members trooped inside. The Hokage wasn't visible behind all the mounds and mounds of papers on her desk, but they could hear a strange grating sound coming from behind. The squad fidgeted nervously, twiddling their thumbs and shifting their weight. After many long minutes, the squad leader cleared his throat.

"Ahem…Hokage-sama? Uhmm, we are envoys from the Hidden Cloud Village, and we were wondering if…Hokage-sama?" The strange grating noise continued.

"Hokage-sama, are you well?" No response ensued, but the scraping sound still kept reverberating around the room. Finally, the squad member gave into the tension and pushed aside the papers on the Hokage's desk.

"What the hell…?" A young woman of twenty sat slumped on her desk, snoring contentedly and drooling all over the documents on the table.

"TSUNADE-SAMA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! THESE GUESTS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR ALL THIS TIME AND YOU'RE **_ASLEEP? _**WAKE UP!" Shizune bounded into the room literally mowing Tsunade down, desk, papers, and all.

"Huzbgh…" Tsunade yawned widely and rubbed her eyes. At the sight of the flabbergasted cloud nin, she smiled sheepishly.

"Oh…sorry for the delay. How can I help you?"

Rinku could hardly believe that this was the Hokage. The Hokage of Konoha, the one supposed to be the most powerful in the village, slept on the job was such a disorganized mess? Emerald eyes wandered to the sake bottle perched on a bookshelf. She was going to have to clear up a few rumors once she got back in the Cloud Village.

"Ahem…anyway, as we were saying, we wondered if you would let us reside in Konoha for a few weeks? Hidden Cloud rarely associates with Konoha, so we were sent as envoys to make friends with your village." Tsunade smiled.

"Of course you may…" She trailed off when she caught the three male squad members staring at the finest cleavage in all of Japan.

Shizune, sensing the danger, quickly shooed out the shinobi (Tsunade wanted very badly to help) and hurriedly gave them the keys to their apartment, sweeping them out of the tower before things got too dangerous.

Rinku flopped down on the bed and sighed, snuggling into the welcome blankets. She was drained from the trip and needed rest; the tour of Konoha could come tomorrow. She wondered briefly what the people were like, especially the guy with the long black hair.

So what do you think? R and R, pwetty pweeze! I need reviews ppl!


End file.
